The Hunter.

Chapter 3

Hey! Thanks for the votes, I know it's not that big a number, but it truly  means a lot to me! This one's reeaaallly short, but I felt I needed to post something before I go to bed. Hope you like it! Enjoy!

The keepers sat in a semi circle, with Alby in the middle chair. Artemis noticed that the chair at the very end was empty. She recognized Alby and Newt, but that's as far as it went. The rest were very unfamiliar faces. She sat in on a chair in the center where they could all see her. "Alright" Alby sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands together. "I won't waste much time. We all have jobs to get back to. We're here to straighten out all the confusion 'n commotion this Greenie here has caused, the reason being, well, she's a girl. With that said, I now officially declare this Gathering begun. Some shanks" he glanced pointedly at a boy with black hair and a nose the size of a deformed potato, "think that the girl is a danger to us, that keeping her here would jeopardize the life we've built and bring us trouble. Others believe the girls just like us, except for the fact that she's a girl, they think she should be treated like any other Greenie. I'm mutual, which means you'll have to give a good reason for your choices. I'll hear all your takes on it, then we'll vote according to the most reasonable suggestions. Good that?" he glanced around as if to ask if anyone disagreed. They all nodded curtly. Artemis doubted any one would ever dare to disagree with Alby. "Zart, you'll go first" Alby pointed to a big, tall black-haired boy with a long face and droopy eyes. He had a quiet demeanor about him. The boy, Zart, leaned forward and cleared his throat slightly. "Well" he started, his eyes darting around nervously, he obviously hated being the center of attention. "I...uh..." Suddenly, a boy walked through the door. "I apologize for my tardiness, shanks"She looked up to see a tall black haired Asian boy with heavily muscled arms. "What's all this talk about a..." their eyes met "girl. Well shuck me. Now I've seen it all." he walked to his chair and plopped into it. "Nice of you to join us, Minho." Alby said, glaring at the dude. Minho shrugged and said "No problem, Alby." Which caused Alby to glare harder. "Jeez! Alby, I was showing Ben the way to my section! Excuse me for doing shuck job" Alby narrowed his eyes, shook his head and turned back to Zart. "You were sayin'?" Zart nodded and continued speaking. "Well, I don't really see the point in treating her differently. I mean, she seems as innocent as any of us." Artemis breathed a sigh of relief, a few others murmured in agreement. "So, lemme get this straight. You're in favour of treating her like any other Glader?" Alby asked pulling out a notebook and a pencil then raising his eyebrows at Zart. The boy nodded. Alby scribbled something down. "Right. Frypan, you're next." Alby pointed to the cook. Artemis had seen him in the kitchen at breakfast. He must be the cook, she thought. The cook smiled. "Well, honestly, I don't get what this is all about. She's a girl, sure, but ain't nobody here that can tell me they never wished for a coupla girls. Maybe the Creators are startin' to send girls, maybe not. Look, what I think is that we treat this girl like any old shuck-face here same treatment. We welcome her the same as we did any other Glader." he sat back. Artemis was really beginning to like this guy. Alby nodded and wrote that down. Next was a kid who didn't have much to say. Then Alby called on a boy with an acne covered face, called Winston. He leaned forward and said " Well, honestly, I don't really think this is somein' to take lightly. I don't really trust her, no offense, Greenie, but that's how I feel. How do we know what you know or don't know." he sat back again. "So what's your recommendation?" Alby asked. "I say we question her, keep her away from the others for a while, maybe in the Slammer. Show the others that we don't trust to easily and that we care bout they're safety" Winston said. Artemis felt fear curling out from her chest as some boys seemed to agree with Winston. "Shut up!" Alby yelled and all the boys did just that. Two more boys spoke, then it was Alby's turn. "I'm reserving my recommendation and judgment till I've heard everyone out. Newt." he turned to the blonde boy. Artemis sat up straighter, anxious to hear what Newt would say. "Well, bloody hell. I don't think we'd be doing any good by punishin' her just for arriving. We coulda accused any of you shanks of spyin' or some other klunk, but we didn't. We trusted you. Now, we immediately distrust her just cause she's a shuck girl? When you think about it nice and long, starts to sound like a load of klunk. I think, we should treat her the same, maybe we could use her too." Newt shrugged and slumped in his seat. Alby looked, for a moment, as if he were fighting a smile. "Thanks for that, shuck-face. Next, Gally" he pointed to Mr. Potato nose, who had been scowling at Missie for ages. "What I have to say is plain and simple. I don't trust the girl. I believe she's trouble. She just arrives here all innocent and confused looking, well I don't buy that klunk for a minute. I mean look at her, she doesn't look like much, all girly. But why would she be sent here then? The Creators wouldn't send a useless girly girl into a place filled with guys if she couldn't defend herself. I think she's faking it. I think she might be a spy." Gally said.

"And your point Gally?" Alby asked,

Gally straightened and said something Artemis would have a hard time forgetting. "I officially recommend we banish the girl once and for all before she starts becoming a real problem."

Dun, Dun, Dunnnn!